The key facts
- 23 foreigners without permission to stay in Uzbekistan were found in a private house in the Yakkasaray district
- 80 phones, 21 laptops, 6 Wi-Fi routers and 22 passports were seized
- A case was opened under Part 2 of Article 278−8 of the Criminal Code: circulation of crypto assets worth 27.9 thousand USDT without a license
How the call center was uncovered
An illegal call center was operating in one of the private houses in the Yakkasaray district of Tashkent, whose participants are suspected of fraud. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan reported this on its Telegram channel, Gazeta relayed.
An attempted bribe led to the raid
The reason for the check was a chance encounter: a prevention inspector noticed one of the call center participants leaving a house that was officially listed as vacant. The man decided to strike a deal with the law enforcement officer to change the property's category and offered him a bribe of $1,000. The inspector refused and reported the incident, after which a raid was carried out at the house.
What was found during the search
The premises contained 23 foreign citizens who were in Uzbekistan without permission; 4–5 people lived in each room. Operatives of the Cybercrime Combat Department of the Tashkent City Police Department seized 80 mobile phones, 21 laptops, 6 Wi-Fi routers and 22 passports.
Crypto assets and the criminal case
It was additionally established that three of the foreigners had repeatedly conducted crypto asset purchase and sale transactions via online crypto exchanges without a license. The total turnover amounted to 27.9 thousand USDT, or about 329.6 million soums. A criminal case has been opened on this fact under Part 2 of Article 278−8 of the Criminal Code (violation of legislation in the sphere of crypto asset circulation), and an investigation is underway. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not clarify in its published statements the fate of the other participants or their alleged victims.
